Tanzanian dissident allegedly kidnapped in Kenya

Tanzanian dissident and former opposition official Twaha Mwaipaya was abducted in Kenya, human rights activists say, reports africanews. Tanzania's Government, which has cracked down heavily on the opposition, has been accused of attempting to abduct dissidents who have taken refuge in neighbouring Kenya. 'Kenya is not safe for Kenyans, it's not safe for East Africans, it's not safe for anyone who is fighting political dictatorship or political oppression,' said activist Boniface Mwangi. Mwaipaya, a leading youth organiser for the main opposition party, Chadema, was jailed in 2022 for criticising the government. He fled into exile in Kenya last year. He posts regularly to almost 600 000 Instagram followers against the Government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is accused by the opposition of brutal repression, including the killing of thousands of protesters during the elections a year ago. Amnesty said Mwaipaya was kidnapped while riding in a taxi to visit friends ‘by individuals travelling in three vehicles’, just east of Nairobi on Sunday. Amnesty urged the authorities to ‘urgently establish (Mwaipaya's) whereabouts and ensure his safety’. Kenya has been accused of allowing foreign governments to kidnap their citizens and forcibly extradite them in violation of international law. In January 2025, renowned Tanzanian rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai was kidnapped in Nairobi but released before she could be smuggled across the border after an outcry by rights groups and the media. In February 2026, another Tanzanian activist, Mshabaha Mshabaha Hamza, was captured and then released. Amnesty International warned that this was part of a ‘growing and worrying trend of transnational repression’.